Never Wonder Which Switch is For What Again

[imageraiter]

[citation][nom]fiddle_sticks[/nom]How you gonna use it when the power goes down? a normal switch still works in that situation... fail.[/citation]

What a genius.

 

[Marco925]

[citation][nom]THG[/nom]Strict parents could shut down their WoW-addicted child's computer remotely, for instance.[/citation]

Oh Noes!!! Not their WoWs!

 

[HalJordan]

[citation][nom]Rab1d-BDGR[/nom]I'm giving you a +1 because I'm pretty sure you were pulling a rather subtle and clever prank... At least I hope you were. :-D[/citation]

Same here, does Tom's have a post of the week award? This one gets my vote.

 

[r3t4rd]

Man...misleading News Topic again. I was hoping for a clear explaination or how to diffrentiate of an off switch for Nagzilla...err I mean wife. You know...women...they turn off and on,b*tchy or slutty,like a switch.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Friends of mine have something similar at the office where they work. Touch screen controls lighting, heating and cooling, and audio & video equipment. Very cool!

 

[Caffeinecarl]

The light switch for my front porch has a simple neon bulb as an indicator that the light is on and is probably well over 30 years old. But...

"Strict parents could shut down their WoW-addicted child's computer remotely, for instance."

EPIC WIN!

 

[HavoCnMe]

They stole that from Star Trek.

 

[Shadow703793]

[citation][nom]fiddle_sticks[/nom]How you gonna use it when the power goes down? a normal switch still works in that situation... fail.[/citation]
Congratz, you win the "EPIC FAIL" award for March 2010!

 

[rad666]

Heaven forbid people actually use their brains and LEARN what switch turns what on and off...

 

[enzo matrix]

"Did it really take this long for designers to take a page or two from Star Trek: The Next Generation?"
As I recall, they only had maps on walls. Lights were always turned on and off via voice control.
"Computer, dim the lights"

 

[Kary]

The only time I have that trouble is when the lights are off and I can't see the switches...but at least I can feel for them.

...oh...and that one light switch that I finally got mad and ripped the wires out to track where it went...surprise surprise, someone installed a light switch that didn't actually lead to anything. Go figure.

 

[dreamphantom_1977]

[citation][nom]fiddle_sticks:[/nom]How you gonna use it when the power goes down? a normal switch still works in that situation... fail.[/citation]

ROFL- Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I needed a good laugh, thanks.

 

[ossie]

[citation][nom]fiddle_sticks[/nom]How you gonna use it when the power goes down? a normal switch still works in that situation... fail.[/citation]
With normal, mechanical switches you could still choose which consumers you want on, or off, when the power is restored... (after the billy boy/toshy nuke fallout settles, and the faithful diesel generator resumes it's duty)
With a touch interface, hopefully you can program the default power-on setting, but surely you can't change it with no power...

X10 anyone?
[citation][nom]randomizer[/nom]You're not an engineer I hope.[/citation]
For the "modern" engineer the scenario seems too complicated... or?
Ever tried to design an automation system with classic electromagnetic relays?

The rest of stupid remarks is telling, for the current state of understanding...

 

[racermx187]

I have been saying for a while now that Tom's needs to do a test of home automation type stuff. For instance, using your HTPC to control all your lights, fireplaces, blinds, security system and such. There is plenty of tech out there to do this but reviews and testing are not so easy to come by.

 

[jsc]

A solution looking for a problem ...

 

[gm0n3y]

At least if you had a central location, you could make sure all of your lights are off when you go out. I think that alone would make up for whatever power the panel uses.

 

[Guest]

The idea of having it on a tablet isn't new. It's used widely on private yachts where one small devices can control just about everything on the boat from lights, to AC, to music...

It is however expensive and the tablet is annoying to carry around or to have to recharge. This panel idea is much simpler and better for the lights.

 

[milktea]

Now the real estates have another reason to jack up the price of the new houses.

 

[idlerp]

My parents house that was built in the late 50's actually has something similar. There is a main relay in the attic which all the light switches in the house are wired into. Then there is a panel of 9 push buttons, each with a little lamp to indicate if the light is on. It's right next to the master bedroom in the hallway, and you can control all the common room lights and exterior lights from one place.

 

[kingssman]

I think this can be a safety issue. You'll always want or need a physical switch to cut off the current to the device in the event of a repair. Leaving it up to an electronic board or [shudder] software to tell you that electricity is turned off to an area is placing too much faith into something flawed.